The Innocent
by EbonyBlack135
Summary: Ebony Black, the daughter of Sirius Black, has worked her whole life to reverse the damage her father has done to the Blacks already infamous name. When her father escapes from Azkaban she vows to be the one to catch him. but when she does, what she finds out will turn her life around.
1. Chapter 1- The Burrow

**Chapter #1 – The Burrow**

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

I reached my arm out from the comfortable warm of my bed to smack the alarm clock into silence. I slowly climbed reluctantly out of my bed, stretched and stood up. I looked around my messy room. I studied all the posters of the Holyhead Harpies quidditch team and at my most prized possession, my Nimbus 2001 broomstick.

There was a sound of glass clinking, and whistling coming from downstairs. I figured that would be my foster father, Remus Lupin, cooking breakfast. I slipped out of my PJ's and pulled on my favourite pair of jeans and a red shirt. I quickly yanked my brush through my waist-length black hair and pulled it into a messy bun. I skipped to the mirror and checked my appearance. I was about 4 foot 8, slim, with clear pale skin with black eyes with red flecks. I brushed a stray hair out of my eyes and ran to the door.

I opened it and ran down the hallway, following the delicious smell of bacon and eggs to the kitchen, where Remus was waiting for me. I jumped into his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek feeling the unpleasant feel of whiskers on my lips.

"Feels like someone needs to shave", I said, grinning at Remus.

"Good morning to you too", he replied, rolling his light blue eyes. "You sure seem to be in a good mood."

"Why wouldn't I be?" I laughed, helping myself to a piece of bacon. Taking a bite I continued, "I'm going to the Weasleys. I haven't seen them for ages"

"You only saw them last Saturday at Diagon Alley"

"Yes, but that was a whole week ago. Way too long for my taste" I complained, taking a plate and filling it with breakfast. "What are you doing today, Rem?"

"I'm going to Hogwarts."

I looked at him shocked. "Why?"

"I'm going to apply for the Defence against Dark Arts job position. Hopefully Dumbledore will accept, considering my, err, condition. You wouldn't mind, would you?" he looked at me worriedly.

My heart leapt. "Are you mad?!" Remus looked at me apprehensively. "Of course I wouldn't mind! That would be awesome if you got the job! You would be the best teacher we've ever had! Dumbledore would be mad to say no."

"Thank-you" he said, looking relieved. "I was afraid you wouldn't like this idea."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Rem. You really thought I wouldn't want you to? You are mad after all."

We walked to the dining table and sat down to eat our breakfast. We ate in a companionable silence, both of us hoping that this job opportunity wasn't too unrealistic. I was rather confident that Remus would get this job. He was in my eyes, the best man for the position. He is smart, caring and likable. Everything a teacher should be. I crossed my fingers under the table.

Just as I took my last mouthful of food, someone knocked at the door. Remus rose gracefully, and opened the door and was met with the mischievous faces of the Weasley twins, Fred and George. Remus stepped aside to let them and their father, Arthur, in. The twins ran in and grabbed my arms, and lifted me bodily off the seat. Grinning wickedly at Remus, George surrendered my whole weight to Fred. Fred threw me over his shoulder and ran down the hallway to my bedroom. George followed close behind.

Fred paused outside my door and George opened it. They walked to my bed and dropped me unceremoniously onto it. I attempted to sit up but George began to tickle me.

"Stop! "I laughed. "No really, stop please! Stop!"

"Nope. Not going to happen." The twins said in unison. They stopped tickling me. I sighed with relief. Then they restarted with renewed vigour.

Arthur and Remus walked in to see what all the commotion was about. The looked at us tangled up on the bed and both chuckled.

"Please help me!" I entreated the two men. "They are trying to kill me. I swear they are. Please."

Remus looked at me, visibly considering what he should do. He smiled and said, "I suppose we should leave you to enjoy your game." I gasped in horror. "But sadly you three need to get Ebony ready to go to the burrow. Then you can play."

I felt relieved, and excited. I was going to my second favourite place in the whole world; the Weasleys. The boys reluctantly let me up, both giving me smug smiles that showed me that they will be giving me hell later, in revenge for my escape. But, I know it would be worth it.

Arthur and Remus left the room to allow me time to pack some clothes. On the way out Arthur said that he was planning to leave in half-an-hour. I shut the door behind him and turned to the twins and said, "Well, are you going to help me or what?"

Fred looked at me in surprise. "Us, help you? Honestly? You expect us to do that? No. we are going to sit here and watch you do all the work". George nodded solemnly along with his words.

"Fine, I'm not going to bother arguing with you guys." I sighed. I turned and walked to my closet and pulled out my backpack. I took it to my desk and opened it and tipped out its entire contents. I skipped to my chest of drawers, opened the top drawer and grabbed out a random selection of shirts. I closed the drawer and opened the next drawer down and pulled out two pairs of denim shorts and a pair of jeans. I ran to the closet again and grabbed my favourite red hoodie and my thongs **(A/N: the Aussie version of flip flops!)**. I yanked on my sneakers and ran to the bathroom to retrieve my toiletries.

"Five minutes!" Arthur yelled. "Not ready, not coming!"

I let down my hair and brushed it again. I snatched my lucky amulet off the bench on the way out and roughly yanked it over my head and sprayed a small amount of my favourite perfume. I ran back into my room, shoved my toiletries into the top my bag and quickly zipped it up. I threw the bag over my shoulder and ran out of my room shutting the door on my way out.

I heard the creak of the front door as I emerged from the hallway into the conjoined lounge room and dining room. The Weasleys were just walking out the door as I gave Remus a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. I yelled out a good bye as I exited through the front door. Arthur offered an empty coke bottle for me to touch and the moment I touched it I felt a jerk behind my navel as I was transported via portkey to the Burrow.

I fell hard onto the grass. Dazed I looked up into the perpetually smirking faces of Ron and Ginny Weasley.

"You really don't like travelling by portkey do you?" Ron asked, _well duuh. _"You always land like that".

"Not everyone likes kissing the floor," I retorted, "But then again the floor is the only thing you'll ever kiss."

His face transformed from mischievous to hurt and anger. "Not everyone needs PDA to survive," he spat, "but you sure do." I felt a stab of hurt but I pushed it away, knowing I had trespassed into delicate territory with Ron.

"Well, then not everyone needs stupidity to survive, but you sure seem to." His face grew even redder than it was previously, closely matching the colour of his hair.

"Shut up already will you? Not everyone needs to hear your arguing to survive." Ginny shouted, irritation evident.

Ron and I turned on her. We began to speak in unison when an overly motherly voice broke the tension. I relaxed immediately, knowing who that was just by the voice. My mother by everything, but blood.

"Ebony, dear. How are you? You are looking a little pale dear. Hasn't Remus been feeding you properly?" Molly fussed. She walked gracefully over to me and kissed my cheek. Even well past her middle years she is a beautiful woman.

"Mum" Fred cried, whilst curling his arm around mine protectively. I blushed at how close Fred was to me. "Eb is always pale!"

"Yeah Mum, She is," George confirmed, putting his arm in my other one. I huffed and mock glared at them while Ginny and Ron tried to hide their snickers under their breaths, behind their hands.

"Darling, why don't you let Ebony take her stuff up before you start fussing over her," Arthur asked before giving his wife a kiss. "I've got to head back to work; Amos said there were a lot of urgent messages for me. Apparently there has been an emergency. Goodbye all. See you at dinner!"

Arthur apparated away to the ministry. Molly turned to me and the twins, completely forgetting that Ron and Ginny were behind her. "Go and organise your belongings. Then you can have the whole afternoon to do whatever you want." She turned and began to walk back towards the house but stopped abruptly. Her hand flew to her chest as she puffed, trying to get her breath back.

"Oh! Sorry dears, you go on in to and help your brothers," she kissed their cheeks and bustled inside. Ron and Ginny turned towards the three of us.

"I'm clearly the favourite," they said in unison. We cracked up laughing while beginning to move towards the house.

Fred snatched my bag from me and began to run towards the house while George scooped me up into his arms and ran after Fred. We entered the house laughing which caused Percy, who was sitting in the lounge room flicking through a pile of letters to look up at us. He smiled fondly while he passed one to each of us. One glance at the envelope showed me that it was our yearly invitation to Hogwarts.

I ripped mine open excitedly and glanced at the book list. I sighed, feeling relieved that the list wasn't as extensive as last years. It was always good going back to Hogwarts, but exhausting and costly while trying to get all the equipment needed. I passed Ginny her letter and I placed mine into my wallet while turning to look at the boys.

"Is anyone up for a game of quidditch?" Everyone looked at me as if I were mad. "Ok. That was clearly a yes. Last one on the pitch is a rotten dragon's egg!" With that we all bolted to retrieve our brooms tripping and laughing up a storm the whole way.

After dinner we played several games of exploding snap. The room rang with our laughter and mocking taunts, making the atmosphere even more light hearted if that were possible. Sadly Ginny won most of the exploding snap games with the exception of a few (Ron actually won a few games as well) games. Molly walked in, at what time we don't know, and scolded us for being up so late. We went to bed and I slept soundly as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I woke up to the sound of Fred and George plotting to wake me up in some unpleasant way. I stayed in bed, pretending to be asleep until they snuck in. they put their faces right in front of mine. I knew because I could smell their aftershave and breathe. I held in my smirk and sat up, yelling, "Boo suckers!" They jumped as if they had been fired from a cannon and smile guiltily at me before racing through the doorway and down the stairs. The smell of pancakes wafted in through the open door tempting me out of bed. Molly's pancakes were too hard to resist.

Three helpings later, the owl that brought the Daily Prophet arrived. It landed in front of me. I pulled a Knut out of my Pyjama pocket and flicked it to the owl; he skilfully and gracefully caught it in its beak. I unfolded the paper, looked at the front pages and gasped.

**A/N**

**Hey guys, this is my first ever fanfic. I would appreciate some constructive criticism. So please read and review. **


	2. Chapter 2 - The News

**Chapter #2 - The News**

I gasped in horror. I couldn't believe it, I wouldn't believe it. I heard someone mumbling my name in the background, but I couldn't find the strength to use my voice to reply. I was in complete shock. I felt the sharp sting before the harsh sting that was left behind and it wasn't pleasant. I refocused to look up to see the Weasleys worried faces. That pushed me over the edge; tears came unbidden out of my eyes. I got up clumsily, threw the Daily Prophet onto the table and rushed blindly out of the room.

I heard Fred and George following me out of the kitchen calling my name as they came. I ignored them and ran sobbing to the front door and grabbed my broom. I stepped out the door, slammed it shut and swung my leg over the broom and kicked off the dirt floor. The broom rose swiftly and began to levitate me, preferably into the sunset - but not likely.

"Ebony dear, what is the matter?!" Molly yelled running out into the yard, shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the sun, _completely oblivious _I thought. "What is going on with you?"

Fred and George ran out the door behind her and bolted over to their broom shed to retrieve their old Cleansweeps. They mounted the brooms and flew swiftly after me. I turned away and flew away as fast as I dared, up high so that the muggles on the ground couldn't see me. I flew over the forest, feeling the rush of the clean air push my hair away from my face. I couldn't hear anything but the roar of the wind in my ears. My tears nearly blinded me; they were flying off my face in a torrent. It was a welcome relief, helping me escape from the fears I have, all because of that paper. It had my worst nightmare written in it.

As I left the property I heard a scream of horror. I didn't bother looking to see who it was. I just continued to charge ahead, never slowing down.

I saw the meadow that I played in as a kid and I flew lower to land as a sense of security washed over me. I looked behind me to see if I could see the twins behind me and I saw two dots in the distance which I assumed were the twins. I knew that they would eventually find me. I landed neatly on the floor, got off my broom and threw it to one side. I ran to my favourite willow tree in the darkest corner of the meadow and collapsed, sobbing. I heard nothing but my sobs and the loud pounding of my heart from the left over adrenaline racing through my veins.

I laid there crying for a few hours and eventually, I heard the sound of brooms coming from above me. I looked up in time to see Fred and George fly over me. Knowing they were looking for me, I climbed up the tree, remembering…

_ **FLASHBACK**_

_ It was when I was eight years old. Remus and I walked hand in hand into the most beautiful meadow I have ever seen. There were lush, green trees surrounding the clearing. There was the soft, calming sound of a freshwater stream in the background and the floor was covered in a carpet of daisies, wildflowers and bluebells. I gasped aloud at the beauty of my surroundings. Remus correctly interpreting my gasp chuckled._

_ "Ebony, this is the place where I played as a kid. Here my father taught me to ride my first broom. Here I learnt to climb trees. Here I always felt safe, even when Voldemort was still in power, with his death eaters. I took James, Peter and your father here for a camping trip in the summers. Your mother often came here as well."_

_ I looked at Remus in wonder. "My mother came here?"_

_ "She was my best friend since we were two year olds. We practiced quidditch here when she made the team. I was extremely proud of her. This is also the place where I told her my dark secret, which is what I'm going to tell you now. It's the reason I brought you here. If you are going to live with me, if you still want to after you know, you need to know what I am." His face filled with sorrow. "You need to keep this a secret; you can't tell anyone no matter how much you want to. Not even Fred and George. Promise me you won't?"_

_ "Why wouldn't I want to stay with you Rem? Just because you're different doesn't mean I don't love you still."_

_ "Promise me Ebony," he replied gravely._

_ "I, Ebony Black, daughter of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon, solemnly promise that I will keep the secret that Remus Lupin tells me. This I swear on my honour as a mem-"_

_ "Okay, okay, I get it. You have often wondered why I have sent you for a sleep over with the Weasleys at the same time every month. It is because-"_

_ "I know! You're a werewolf!" I cried. He looked at me astounded. He opened his mouth to ask how I knew. "I overheard you ask Snape when the wolfs-bane potion will be ready. I then went to Mrs Weasley and asked what the potion is for. And she told me."_

_ "How long have you known?" Remus asked as he mechanically sat down by the stream._

_ "I found out three months ago during your change. And I don't mind. Does it hurt to change?" I sat down too and started to pick flowers._

_ He sighed. "Yes, it does hurt to change." He smiled as he remembered. "The other three marauders became animagi so that my transformations were easier. It did help. It made the worst time of my life into one of the best. If I know you, you will ask of you can learn to become one as well. One day I will let you, when you are a few years older."_

_"Oh, okay then, I will wait then. Remus, I don't mind that you are a werewolf. It's not your fault. I still love you and will always love you know matter what you are. And that is a promise." I crawled over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, feeling the comforting scratch of his whiskers. "Someone needs to shave". He let a relieved laugh._

_ We lied there together in a comfortable silence. I was lulled to sleep by the sweet sound of the nearby stream. I fell asleep, whilst hearing Remus promise me he'll always love me._

_**END FLASHBACK**_

I woke up to see the twins by my side with their brooms lying idle a few metres away. They looked at me worriedly. George reached out to gently take my hand in his.

"We've been looking for you for hours. We were worried especially after the manner in which you left the house. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was the news in the paper. Have you seen it yet?" they both shook their heads. "The worst thing has happened…"

**A/N**

**I have always hated cliff-hangers – I am officially a hypocrite. Please read and review.**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Escape

**Chapter #3 - The Escape**

"The worst thing has happened." I paused dramatically. "My Father," I spat venomously, "has escaped from Azkaban." The twins looked at me in horror. Fred opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, Freddy, he escaped. You know I wouldn't joke about something as horrifying as this. He truthfully escaped."

The twins looked at me with sympathy. They knew that a lot of people still gave me trouble because of my heritage. It's took me until the end of my first year when I won 100 points for Gryffindor. That's the only way I gained respect from people. My father escaping from Azkaban could set me back and make people distrust me again, everyone except the Weasley's.

Another fear I had was that Harry Potter would hate me when he learned what my father did. I could handle everyone being prejudiced, except for Harry. Ever since we met three years ago at the sorting we have become good friends. I like to classify him as the little brother I never had. But this could run the life I have worked hard to build.

Anger rushed through me as I thought of how my father betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and, even worse, murdered lily and James Potter. How could he?! Now he has the nerve to escape from Azkaban. God, if found him . . .

The sun was beginning to set. "We should get back home. Mum and dad are probably worried. Mum is probably preparing to call for the auroras to find our mutilated bodies." Fred suggested quietly, as though I was so fragile that I would break if he spoke to loud. I had no idea when he had landed there, being too out of it to realise.

I nodded. "Yeah, I suppose, let's go." Fred and George stood up. I held my hands out. The twins grabbed a hand each and pulled me to my feet. We walked to our brooms and mounted them. We flew, racing back to the Burrow. We landed in front of the broom shed. We all quickly put the brooms into the shed. We ran up to the house, threw the door open and charged inside, straight into Molly's arms.

"Ebony, dear, are you ok? I saw the news. You must be terrified!" Molly fussed. I opened my mouth to argue. "No dear. No need to act brave." I opened my mouth again and she grabbed me in a huge hug. "Shh. That's enough you are looking peaky. You need some dinner. Come into the kitchen, and eat."

Molly led us into the kitchen, where the rest of the Weasley's were already eating. She served us a large plateful of roast pork and vegetables. I scoffed the food down – not surprising as it is my first meal for the day – and Molly quickly traded my empty plate for a bowl full of treacle tart and custard.

After dinner Fred, George and I went upstairs to prepare for our start of year prank fest. We had several good ideas but nothing concrete yet. We then played wizard chess until midnight. Fred pulled out an extra mattress from under his bed and George put some blankets and a pillow on it for me.

We lay on my bed talking until the early hours of the morning. We fell asleep in a pile, all three of us curled up under the blankets to preserve the warmth.

The next morning (or perhaps afternoon) we woke up to Ginny and Ron's giggling, as they walked in, not caring how much noise they make. We sat up tiredly, and slowly got up, obviously unmotivated. Molly bustled in, stopped at the door, looking shocked when she saw the way we were sitting. Anger crossed her face as an assumption passed.

"How dare you! Taking advantage of a young lady! And sleeping with her! I thought I – "

"Molly, Mrs Weasley! Calm down! Nothing happened I swear. We were talking and we fell asleep!" I cried, trying to placate her.

"Mum. How could you think so low of us? "Fred and George said in unison, both blushing as red as their hair. "Eb is like our sister. We would never do that."

"I'm sorry. It was just the way that you were sitting on the same bed, and that Ginny came running downstairs telling me you guys were all in the mattress on the floor." Molly blushed, whilst apologising profusely. "Come down and have some breakfast."

I grabbed a pair of jeans and a black shirt out of my bag, and ran to the bathroom to change. I quickly pulled my brush through my hair and washed my face with some cold water. I ran down the stairs two at a time and burst through the kitchen doorway, pulled out a chair and fell into it, eager to eat. Molly tipped five sausages and four eggs onto my plate, which I quickly scooped into my mouth.

After swallowing I asked, "What are we doing today?"

"We are waiting for Remus then we are going to Diagon Alley to buy everyone's books." Arthur replied, "We will be staying at the Leaky Cauldron. I expect that we will find Harry there and Hermione is meeting us there with her parents."

Ron began eating with more enthusiasm. With his mouth full he asked, "Why is Harry at the Leaky Cauldron? I thought he had to stay with his aunt and uncle."

"Three weeks ago, he blew up his aunt". Everyone started laughing except for Molly and Percy who both had stern expressions on their faces. "He ran away from his home to Diagon Alley where he ran into Minister Fudge."

"Good thing he did. Goodness, if he didn't…" molly worried. "Well anyway, we'll see him today. Remus should be here any moment. Have you packed, Ebony? Yeah, Remus will bring it through the Floo network. Have you cleaned up your rooms everyone?" the children around the table groaned. "I take that as a no, so everyone go and clean them." No one moved. "NOW!"

The Weasley's and I moved to our respective rooms, me into Fred and George's.

We had just finished cleaning room, when Molly called me down. I ran downstairs, anticipating Remus's arrival. I bolted into the kitchen and threw myself into his arms and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Geez, Remus, still need to shave." I said, grinning. His face reflected my happiness at seeing him. "I missed you, even though it was only one day." My mood suddenly went sour. "Have you seen the paper, Rem?

"No. should I have?" he asked, confused. I silently passed him yesterday's Daily Prophet. He unfolded it, curious as to what had me worried and angry. He glanced at the front page and –if possible- his face went even whiter. "No way! No, no, no. This isn't possible. Azkaban has the best security system there ever was." He collapsed into the chair behind him and he sagged with his head in his hands.

I walked up behind him, put my arms around his neck and kissed him on top of his head, soothing him like he had done for me all those times. Everyone left the room to give us some privacy and I was grateful. His shoulders began to shake with silent sobs and hearing this, I released him and moved around to stand in front of him. I carefully swept his hands away from his face and he let me. He reached out to hold me and I moved without hesitation. I sat on his lap and allowed him to cry into my hair, continuing to soothe him.

Eventually he calmed down, but didn't release me. Molly walked in hesitantly, looking at me for permission and I waved her in. She slipped in carefully, hesitantly, afraid to disturb Remus, and made a much needed pot of tea quietly. She passed me two cups of tea carefully and I tapped Remus on shoulder to give him his; he lifted his head and accepted the cup of tea quietly, still sniffling.

Molly left the room again with two more cups of tea in her hand. Remus and I sat, sipping our tea in silence, one of his arms wrapped around me, still holding me on his lap like he would when I was littler only this time it was for his comfort. I looked at him worriedly, "Are you ok, Rem?"

"Yeah." He replied, bitterly.

"No you're not."

"I am."

"You can't lie to me Rem. I know you too well." I said. He pulled me tighter into his lap. "You may not be ok now, but you will be. Anyway, you don't need to worry too much about Sirius, because remember you are teaching at Hogwarts this year, we will both be safe inside the wards so calm down, Rem," he wiped his face off with his free hand before taking another sip of his drink. "Are you calm now? The Weasley's are waiting for us." He nodded, took a deep breath, and pushed me gently off his lap. I stood up and offered him my hand. He took it.

"How did you get so smart, darling?" He asked me, trying to smirk.

"I don't need to be smart to know when you are hurting, I just have to know you, which I already do," I said with a smile. He smiled back and together, we emerged from the kitchen to where the Weasley's were sitting anxiously.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Molly and Arthur. They looked at Remus, worried for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, let's go" Arthur replied. He turned towards the stairs and yelled for the children, "Come on! It's time to go. Hurry up everybody."

Five sets of loud footsteps ran down the stairs to meet in front of the fireplace. Molly offered the pot of Floo Powder to everyone. "Fred and George first," Molly called. They walked towards the fireplace and threw their powder onto the flames while stating their destination and they promptly disappeared. "Ebony and Remus now." We both approached the fireplace, hands still clasped tightly, and threw our portion of powder down together. The feeling was surreal, being spun faster than the speed of light and then the feeling of being shoved, distorted, and then we landed safely at the Leaky Cauldron in one piece.

We waited a few minutes for the rest of the family to teleport and soon everyone was standing in front of us and we quickly took our trunks to our booked rooms. We then entered the back room to go through the gateway into Diagon Alley.

**A/N**

**Hey guys thanks to those who have reviewed. And thanks forever to my extremely amazing Beta Reader. (Don't let it get to your head ;) Please people, read and review. I'm literally begging you.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Diagon Alley

**Chapter 4 – Diagon Alley**

Once all of us were through the gateway, we gathered in a group to decide what we were going to do. I reached into my back pocket to retrieve my wallet. I opened my wallet and pulled out my book list. I unfolded the list and glanced at it. Remus tapped on my shoulder, and held his hand out, clearly wanting the list. I passed it to him and he quickly read it.

"Molly" Remus asked, "how about Ebony and the twins go to choose Eb's owl and go to the apothecary, whilst we go and buy the books?"

"Yes", Molly replied. She turned to the twins, with a stern look on her face. "I expect all three of you to be on your best behaviour. I should send Percy with you-"

"Please mum, no. we'll be on hour best behaviour! Don't worry about us." Fred cried, desperately.

"Yeah, mum, there's no need for such a harsh measure" George agreed, earnestly.

"Chill, Molly. I'll make sure the boys are good," I promised. "Your boys are safe with me". The twins turned to me with annoyed looks on their faces. I poked my tongue at them. "So can we go? Please."

Molly sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, you three can go". We cheered. "But if I hear any of you do one wrong thing, I'll-"

"Molly", Remus interrupted. "They'll be fine. Let them go". I went to Remus, gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I opened my mouth to complain. "Before you say anything, I know I need to shave". He grinned than kissed me on my forehead. "Off you guys go. Meet us at Ollivanders in one hour. Go have fun". He reached into his pocket and got out a bag of galleons, and placed them in my hand. "Now shoo".

I put the money into my handbag. The twins each grabbed one of my hands. We ran towards the apothecary. We walked through the door and quickly grabbed the cauldron and the ingredients we needed. Armadillo bile, bicorn horn, eel eyes, horned slug, etc.

"So just the basic ingredients?" the shop assistant enquired.

"Yep" I replied. "That's all". The shop assistant energetically bagged the ingredients into our cauldron and passed them to us.

"That will be two galleons and two sickles each". We all passed the assistant the amount of money required, grabbed the bags and exited the shop. "I turned to the twins, "where to next?"

"To Eeylops-"George started.

"Of course", Fred finished. We linked arms and walked to the owl shop together. The doorbell rang as we pushed the door open. The shop mistress ran to us.

"How can I help you? Are you after and owl, or just some supplies?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Um, just an owl, and the basic needs for one, please." I replied, nervously. She led us over to the owls. My eyes were immediately drawn to a beautiful snowy owl with a silver lining on her wings. I knew that this was the owl I wanted. The shop mistress noticed my preoccupation. "She is beautiful isn't she? I just got her last week. She costs fifteen galleons."

"Cool. I'll take her then." The shopkeeper put the owl into a cage. She brought the owl to the counter, and placed it onto it. She then turned and retrieved a box of owl food of the shelf behind her. She put the box onto the counter and approached the till.

"All up, that will be fifteen galleons, two sickles and three knuts." I passed her the money and reached for the owl. She passed me a receipt with a smile. "You have a great day, and enjoy your year at Hogwarts."

"Awesome, thank-you." I grinned back at her. I turned to the twins. "You guys, ready to go?" They nodded. "Well then, let's go to Ollivanders." We left the shop and entered the busy alleyway. We pushed through the crowd, slowly making our way to the wand shop. Once we arrived at the door, we looked in. Remus turned and beckoned to us to come in. We entered quickly.

Inside, Ron was getting measured by Ollivanders magic measuring tape. Meanwhile Ollivander was rummaging through the shelves looking for a suitable wand for Ron. When the tape was finished, Ollivander approached with his arms full of wands. He lovingly placed the wands onto a table near Ron. He passed the first wand to Ron.

"Twelve inches, holly, containing stag heartstring."

Ron waved the wand. I lay back against Remus falling asleep.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_Remus and I entered the wand shop together. I was shaking from nerves. Ollivander looked up from the wand he was in the process of polishing. _

_"Oh, Miss Black, I wondered when I would see you. It feels it was just yesterday that both your parents were in here getting chosen by their wands. Yes thirteen inches, holly and containing a dog's heartstring. Yes, it was perfect for Transfiguration and charms. Yes, Yes, very good. Such a pity, yes a pity what the master of that wand did. Your mother's wand on the other hand was twelve inches, willow, with a phoenix feather. Very good for duelling and defence. Very fine dueller she became. Yes, horrible her death was. Very sad."_

_ He walked towards me with a gentle smile on his face. "Don't worry, my dear. We shall find the perfect wand for you. Now let's see. Nine inches, yew, containing a unicorn hair. Go ahead and give it a wave."_

_ I waved it and the glass smashed. "No! Definitely not!" He snatched the wand out of my hand, and replaced it with another. "Eleven inches, holly, phoenix feather." I lifted it. "No! No this one either. Hold on, you grew up in Australia didn't you, Miss Black?"_

_ "Yes, Mister Ollivander. I lived there until I was eight", I mumbled. An excited look came onto his face. He skipped happily back to the shelves that hold the wands. He pulled down a wand box._

_ "How about this one. Ten and a half inches, eucalyptus, kookaburra feather. I got this in one of my travels after the war. Five years ago, I decided to go to Australia and see what native magical creatures they have their. I visited one of my colleagues there. He showed me how he makes wand there and gave me one to take back here. This is it." He passed me the wand. _

_ Warmth flooded through me as he reverently held the beautiful wand. I held it to my face and smelt the wood. It smelled like the trees that my Aunt and uncle had in their backyard. It was a comforting smell, like home. I looked up from the wand in my hand. Remus was smiling proudly at me, whilst Mr Ollivander was looking extremely happy._

_ He led us to the counter. "That my dear will be seven galleons. A very beautiful wand isn't it. My friend puts a lot of work into the presentation of the wand." Remus passed the excited wand maker the money required. "Look after the wand my dear. Enjoy Hogwarts."_

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

Remus nudged me awake. Ron was at the counter paying for his new wand. I leaned over to whisper in Remus's ear. "What wand did he get?"

"He got a wand that is fourteen inches, willow that contains one unicorn hair," he replied. "Are you coming to Florean Fortescue's Ice-cream Parlour before we go to Madam Malkins?"

"Definitely! You know I love ice-cream," I replied happily. "Can we go already?" Molly and Ron returned from paying for the wand. They grabbed the bags and we all exited the shop.

I skipped to the ice-cream parlour, anticipating the chocolate mint ice-cream I was going to order. The twins and I ran ahead to wait at the parlour. When we arrived, we sat near the counter to await Remus and the rest of the Weasleys. A minute after we sat down, the Lucius and Draco Malfoy walked in and approached the counter. Draco looked around a noticed us. A malicious smirk crossed his face.

"Oh look father. See what filth crosses our path." Lucius turned and saw us; an identical smirk to his son came onto his face. He glided towards us.

"Oh Black. I must ask. How is your father, these days?" Lucius taunted.

"Why don't you tell me? Your wife's the one who visits that cow she calls a sister." I retorted, contemptuously. "But then again, she's probably inspecting the place in which you belong." The twins snickered from behind me.

"You must be so proud. Your father is the only one that has ever escaped from Azkaban."

"Yep, shows where I got my intelligence from." I shot back at him. At that moment Remus and the Weasleys entered the shop.

"Come on, Draco. Let's get out, before we get infected by the blood traitors." An expression of fury crossed Arthurs face.

"Don't worry, Arthur," I spoke. "We wouldn't want to be infected by extreme arrogance. Or the need to buy friends cause that's the only way someone can get them."

"Black, you need to learn how to talk properly to your superiors!"

"God, Lucy! I hope you're not referring to yourself!"

"Draco, come." The Malfoys left the shop with as much grace as they could. Not that it was much.

"Ebony," Remus started. "Was that really necessary to talk to Lucius?"

"He spoke to me first. I'm not going take to being insulted without reacting. Not going to happen," I replied. "Anyway, who wants ice-cream?" all of us approached the counter to order our ice-creams. I ordered a choc-mint sundae. We sat down to eat them. I sat between Fred and George.

"What are you going to call your owl?" Remus asked.

"I was thinking of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. She is also the patron goddess of owls."

"That sounds perfect," Remus replied.

After everyone had finished we headed to Madam Malkins to get Percy and I some new robes. Half an hour later we were finished. Madam Malkin passed us our robes and we paid. We left the shop to meet Hermione outside Gringotts.

Hermione was waiting with her shopping and parents. Her parents were standing beside her looking terrified. Hermione ran up and gave Ron a hug. She then turned to me to do the same. Her parents gave her the remains of their wizarding money and gave her a kiss on the forehead before leaving Diagon Alley.

She turned to us. "Can Ron and I go to the pet shop to get me a pet?"

"Yes, Hermione, "Molly replied. 'You can go. Ron, be good." She turned to the twins and me, "Yes, before you ask, you can go to Quality Quidditch Supplies, if Remus agrees."

"Can I Rem? Please?" I asked.

"As long as you don't buy yourself an unneeded new broom." My shoulders sagged. He smiled. "I knew that was your plan."

"Rem"

"I said, no."

"Ok then," I sighed. I turned to the twins. "Ready to go?" they nodded. We left the group and walked towards the Quidditch Supply Shop. We pushed through the crowd that had gathered outside the display window. The main display was the most beautiful broom I have ever seen. The Firebolt. I had never have felt such a want for something until I saw it.

"Wow!" Fred cried.

"Yeah!" George agreed. He turned to me and grinned. "Hey, Eb, You can afford it, can't you?"

"Yes I can," I replied. "But Remus said no. plus I need to save the money so I can buy books for the next few years. I can't access the Black vault until I turn seventeen. All I can use is my mum's money." The boys looked at me disappointedly. "I know it sucks."

We entered the store to look at quidditch gear. I walked straight to the chaser gear. My vision travelled along the products until I saw a pair of black, dragon skin chaser gloves. I tried them on, to find that they fit perfectly. I picked them up and approached the counter to ask the price.

"Very good choice there, beautiful," the handsome, young man behind the counter said. "You've got very good taste."

"Thank-you," I replied. "How much are they?"

"Ten galleons, Gorgeous," he replied, with a flirtatious smile. "But of that's too much, I can help pay. All you have to do is go on a date with me." Fred came up behind me and put his arm around my waist. It surprised me, how natural it felt.

"No, it's cool, I've got her." I turned and glared at Fred. He grinned at me and kissed me on the forehead. My heart pounded in my chest. My cheeks went red. I looked down and turned to face the shop assistant.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm able to afford it." I passed the assistant the money, smiled at him then left the shop, the twins following close behind me. I stalked towards the Leaky Cauldron, with Fred calling to me wanting to explain. I threw the door open and stomped inside. Remus looked up from the book he was reading and gave me a confused look.

I ran up the stairs into my room. I slammed the door shut and threw my bags into the corner of my room. Remus opened the door and cautiously walked in.

"Eb, what happened?" Remus asked. "Was it the twins?"

"It was Fred." I cried into my pillow. "The shop assistant was flirting with me. Fred walked up and pretended to be my boyfriend.

****FRED'S POV****

I was standing outside Ebony's room listening to Remus trying to comfort her. I was guilty that I had upset her. I couldn't just stand there and listen to that man flirt with her. As I stood there I in the shop an overwhelming jealousy came over me. That was my girl. No one else will have her. I couldn't believe the nerve of him to ask her out like that. I couldn't stay still there any longer.

I walked up behind her and put my arm around her. I was shocked at how natural it felt to be holding her like that. I told the arrogant prick that she was mine, and then kissed her on the forehead. I felt pleased when I saw the blush on her cheeks. She looked so beautiful when I held her in my arms. She pulled away and spoke to the assistant, gave him the money owed and smiled at him.

She glared at me once we left the shop. I knew she would be angry, but I couldn't bring myself to regret what I had done.

I ran after her trying to explain why I acted like that. She refused to stop. George grabbed my arm to stop me.

"Freddie, give her some space." He tried to reason, "She is really angry, so give her some time to cool down. She'll calm down soon".

"I hope so".

I entered the Leaky Cauldron behind my mother and siblings. I saw harry, placed a fake smile on my face and imitated Percy's trademark greetings. I barely heard anything I said. I left the room to try and find Ebony. I walked to her door to her door and stood out there.

I heard footsteps approaching the door so I bolted into my room. I looked out through the doorway to see Remus leave her room, looking grim. I walked into the hallway and approached Remus, nervously.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"Yes, but you embarrassed her." He replied. "Go in and talk to her. Explain why you acted that way. But be warned, if you hurt her, you will really wish you were dead. That is a promise." I walked towards Ebony's room, afraid of how she will react to my presence.

I knocked on the door, and slowly pushed it open. Ebony did not look up from her pillow. "Eb? I'm sorry that I upset you." She still refused to look up at me. "Eb?" she rolled over and looked at me angrily.

"So you think you can dictate who I date, do you?" she yelled glaring at me. "You had no right to tell him no. you had no right to tell him I was yours. You had no right to put your arm around me. And you especially had no right to kiss me!"

"He only wanted to get in your pants!" I cried back at her.

"I knew that! I was going to tell him no." she screamed. "But that does not give you a right to act like that!"

"I knew I shouldn't have done that, but-"

"But what, you think I can't look after myself!"

"Will you let me explain?!"

"No!" She shouted. "Because nothing you can say can justify your actions."

"You wanna bet!"

"Go on then surprise me!"

"I will, then!" I walked up to her. She looked up at me, her innocent vulnerability showing in her beautiful black eyes. She blushed and looked down as she noticed how fast we were getting. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't care for me." She looked me in the eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. My heart began to pound.

She looked down and mumbled, "I can't."

I gently reached out to touch her face. I lifted her chin up and whispered, "Good, because I can't either." Pulled her face to mine and kissed her softly, as though she would disappear if I touched her any harder. She started to pull away, but I put my arms around her, gently holding her in place. She stopped pulling away and responded, slowly moving her lips in time with mine. Then we parted.

She looked at me blushing. "I'm sor-"

"Don't," I growled. "Don't you dare say you're sorry."

"Freddie, I," she started. "Please, Freddie, Don't play with me. I don't want to be another one of your pranks. I don't want to get hurt".

"I'm not. I won't let you get hurt, I promise." She looked up at me, hope in her eyes. "I bent down to whisper in her ear. "Will you go out with me?"

She looked up at me, searched my face, and then replied, "Yes."

Joy rushed through me. I never believed that one word could bring me so much joy. But it did. And I was glad. I brought her face back up to mine and kissed her. She slipped her arms around my neck, and began to run her hands through my hair. I put my arms around her, and began to rub circles on her back. Time lost all meaning to both of us, when the door opened and George ran in.

We jumped apart. He grinned at us, "finally. About time you two got together." Ebony and I looked at each other and smiled. "Mum sent me here to tell you dinner is ready."

I held my hand out to her. She took it and we left the room, following George down the stairs. We emerged from the concealment of the stairs, and our entire family gasped.

****EBONY'S POV****

"Will you go out with me?" I looked up into Fred's face, trying to decipher his emotions, so I could tell if he was being genuine. I saw nothing to say it was a joke. My heart began to pound. I blushed, and then I replied.

"Yes". Excitement rushed though me. I was so happy, I couldn't believe myself. An expression of joy appeared on Fred's face when I spoke my answer. We kissed. It felt as natural as breathing. It was nothing like when I briefly dated Cedric Diggory, where I only felt like I had to please him. George burst through the door to tell us dinner was ready.

We walked downstairs, hand in hand. I was terrified, anticipating Remus's reaction. He was so ridiculously overprotective.

We stepped into the room where the Wesley's, Remus and I were dining. Remus looked up to see us. He was amazed. Molly ran up and gave us both a hug.

"My goodness, my little George has a girlfriend! My little boys all grown up." Fred smirked at that comment.

Remus walked towards us, glaring at Fred the whole way. "When I said, don't hurt her, I did not mean to ask her out!"

"Oh, please, Rem! Not the Dad is scary talk. You'll scare him away!" Fred looked at me in annoyance. I looked at him and poked my tongue out at him. Remus growled, but turned away and returned to his seat to sit down again.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in and sat at the table. Hermione looked at my hand intertwined with Fred's and smiled happily. She looked at me and mouthed 'finally'. I poked my tongue at her, and then smiled. She turned away to whisper something in both Harry and Ron's ears.

They looked up at me and glanced surprised at Fred. Ron looked at me, and then quickly mouthed 'good one", to Fred. I looked at Fred in askance. He shrugged and grinned at me, and kissed me on the forehead.

We walked to the table, Fred walked ahead to pull out my chair for me. i sat down just as Tom bustled in levitating our dinner. Once the food was on the table, everyone dug in.

After dinner, Fred, George and I stole Percy's head boy badge and fixed it to say 'Bighead Boy'. It looked better that way. He spent most of the evening pulling apart his and Ron's room to find the badge.

We then finished packing our bags, adding all of our new school supplies. It didn't take long. I was too tired to stay up any longer, so I returned to my room. Before I left, Fred gave me quick soft kiss on the lips.

Remus was waiting up in our room. He walked towards me. "Not now Remus." I begged. "I'm too tired. And I don't regret telling him-"

"I wasn't going to criticise you decision," he replied. "I just wanted to be sure, that you are happy."

I turned my face away from him. "I am," I said. "You know I have liked him since 2nd year when he caught me in our first quidditch game. I am glad he finally asked me."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"Fred wouldn't do that to me."

"You wouldn't know!"

"Yes, I would!" I yelled, suddenly angry. "I have been best friends with him for 5 years." I walked towards the bathroom to change into my Pj's.

"I'm sorry." He apologised. "I went too far. I'm sorry. I'm just wor-"

"There's no need to be!"

"I know that. But I can't help being worried." He approached me, and took my hand in his. "Eb, you're the most important person in my life. I can't help being scared that you are going to be hurt." He squeezed my hand gently. "I love you, Ebony."

"I love you too, Rem. Please, give Fred a chance. You know that he would never purposely hurt me." I kissed him on the cheek. "Please, Rem, for me."

"Okay," he sighed. "One chance is all I'm giving him."

"Thank-you that is all I ask." I gave him a hug.

"To his credit, I think he does really care for you."

**SIRIUS'S POV**

I sat on the balcony, outside my daughter's room at the leaky cauldron. I sat there, looking through the small opening in the curtain, jealous that my friend could hold the one I most wanted to. I could hear most of what they were saying.

I felt horror at how old my beautiful little girl was growing. She is as beautiful as her mother. Regret washed through me as I realised how much I missed whilst I was ion Azk-. No, I won't think of that. I missed watching my girl grow.

I felt gratitude at how good a job, Remus did raising her.

Sometime this year, I will meet Ebony, Remus and Harry. I will make them understand. Most importantly, I will avenge James and Lily's death. I will make the traitor, peter, pay for his crime. Then I will prove I am innocent, and become free to live and watch my two kids grow.

I watched as my daughter kissed Remus on the cheek and retreat into her room. It is time to go to Hogwarts.


	5. Chapter 5 - Return to Hogwarts

**Chapter 5 – Return to Hogwarts**

We pushed through the busy crowd to reach the barrier that lead to platform 9 and ¾. We walked through the barrier with five minutes to spare. We rushed our trunks onto the train and kissed Molly goodbye. I turned to find Remus, to say goodbye, only to find him boarding the Hogwarts Express.

Fred, George and I hopped onto the train, and began to search for Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson. We found them in a compartment by themselves at the end of the train. We entered and made ourselves at home in it. We played exploding snap for an hour, and then decided to do a Wizarding Chess tournament.

We were into the final round, me versus Lee, when the train suddenly stopped, causing the chess pieces to fly everywhere. "We can't be there already!" Angelina cried, mystified.

"Then why are we stopping?" Fred asked. He looked out the window, curiously. He looked out only to see empty tea fields. The glass window began to freeze making Fred jump up surprised.

I gasped in horror. "Please no!" I cried in horror. "Please tell me I'm wrong,"

"Eb, what is it?" Fred asked, looking at me worriedly. He grabbed my hand, and squeezed it, trying to comfort me. The temperature dropped to freezing making goose bumps break out across my skin.

"It is the dementor's of Azkaban!" I cried, terrified. Fear rushed through me and I began to relive the pain of loss.

"Why would there be dementor's here?" Lee questioned. Doorsteps echoed down the corridors.

"They are probably checking-"Fred started. The lights flickered. Hopelessness filled me, I wanted to fight it, but couldn't find the strength of will to put the effort into what seemed like a pointless waste of effort.

"The train for Sirius Black!" George finished. The lights went out in the carriage. The carriage door opened slowly. I backed away for the dementor's forcing myself against Fred's chest. He put his arms around me in an attempt to calm me. Tears poured down my face as I felt the deaths of my family all over again.

The sound of the dementor's rattly breathing intruded the carriage. The creature entered, slowly and purposefully. I fainted as I remembered the day my Aunt Rose and Cousin Amy died.

_**FLASHBACK**_

_ I was sitting in the attic of my house watching my aunt work. She worked for the Australian Ministry of Magic in the Department of Mysteries. She created and modified spells to make them safe for the public to cast. _

_ I was sitting on the couch reading my favourite book, when there was a loud bang. I wasn't that alarmed as I was familiar with hearing such noises. I continued reading until I heard the sound repeated. Shocked I looked up, and saw an expression of terror upon my aunt's face. _

_ She looked up at me and screamed for me to get out of the house. I was terrified, I ran to her but she pushed me away yelling me to leave, to get out of the house. I ran afraid down the stairs and towards the front door, hoping my aunt was coming behind me. My five year old cousin, Amy, was lounging in front of the television watching 'Peppa Pig'. _

_ She looked up at me confused. I yelled at her to run. She came sprinting after me. We were going through the front door, me first, when the house exploded. I was thrown five meters into the air and slammed into the floor. Tortured screams came from within the house. Pain erupted within my chest as I realised that was my aunt. Desperately, I looked over at Amy to check she was alive._

_My cousin was lying crying, five meters away. My eyes were drawn to a large roof tile flying directly at Amy's head. I screamed desperately at her to move, but she couldn't hear me over the roar of the rapidly spreading fire. The tile hit Amy on her forehead. She immediately went still._

_I crawled blindly over to her and felt for her pulse, but couldn't find one. I put my head on her chest, hoping that I would hear her heart beat. I couldn't hear one. I shrieked in anger and grief._

_A hand touched me gently on the shoulder turning me slowly to face the owner. I screamed in terror as the kind looking lady, pulled me into her arms, rubbing my back in an attempt to calm me. I struggled, trying to get away, but the lady refused to release me. I eventually stopped moving exhausted and sat there crying into her shoulder._

_**END OF FLASHBACK**_

I opened my eyes to see my friend's concerned faces looking at me. Tears began to pour out of my eyes as I recalled the pain of my cousin and aunts deaths. Fred pulled me into his arms the same way that kind lady did. That only caused me cry harder.

Remus ran throwing the door open, his worry showing clearly on his face. He pulled me out of Fred's arms and held me on his lap with his chin resting on the top of my head. It always calmed me when I was held like that by him. He sat there rocking for a while. He handed out chocolate to the others and gave me the remains. I choked mine down, sobbing still.

Eventually I calmed down. I stood up pushing Remus's arms away from me, my throat raw from crying. "I need to change," I mumbled and left the carriage with Angelina following me. We walked to the bathroom and quickly got changed. As we walked back to our carriage, we talked.

"Ebony, are you okay?" Angelina asked gazing concerned at my face.

I looked into her warm brown eyes and melted. "No." I replied. "But soon enough I will be"

"What did you see?"

I sighed. I was desperately hoping she would forget to ask. Only so I wouldn't have to relive it to tell her. "Can I tell you later?" I wanted to post-pone this as much as I could. She nodded, understanding that this was a difficult topic for me. "Thanks, Angie."

"Anytime Eb, you're my best friend." She stepped towards me and gave me a quick hug. "Are you ok, you know, with your fathers escape and all?"

"You're the first person to actually ask me. Am I okay?" I pondered the question for a minute. She stood there waiting for the answer to the question. "Honestly, I don't know. Remus is afraid that he'll come after me. That's half the reason he decided to come and teach Defence against Dark Arts this year."

"He's teaching this year? That's awesome! He'll be the best teacher we've had." Her face lit up in excitement. We opened the door to enter our carriage. The twins and Lee had changed into their uniforms while we were gone.

Fred got up from where he was lounging on the chair. He came over and put his arms around me. "Hey beautiful, are you feeling better now?" I nodded into his chest. "Good, because I don't like seeing you cry." He kissed me on the lips, and then pulled me to sit on his lap.

An hour later, we felt the train slowing down as we approached Hogwarts. "Excellent! I'm starving!" Lee cried, happily.

"You're always hungry," I replied. "I'm looking forward to desert." I exchanged excited looks with the twins.

"OMG! Eb. You guys have a prank planned, don't you?" Angelina shrieked.

"Of course we do," the twins and I shouted in unison. "Don't we always!"

**AFTER THE SORTING**

Dumbledore did his usual welcome back speech, of which the twins and I ignored, only listening when Remus was introduced as our DADA teacher. I recalled the potion we gave to the kitchen house elves to put in all the drinks in the feast. I began to cast spells on all the tables and chairs, whilst the twins fiddled with the shrunken items they are hiding under the table. Professor McGonagall was staring at us the whole time suspiciously. I smiled innocently at her.

Dumbledore waved his wand to summon the feast. The twins and I dug in, eating as much as we could, to build enough energy to complete the prank before us. The other students were all looking at us, anticipating the moment when our prank began.

Once most people had finished eating, I leant over to the twins and whispered, "Are you guys ready for this?"

They both looked at me and grinned in reply. Dumbledore waved his wand to change dinner into desert. Once the deserts were on the tables, we waved our wands in clear view, and all hell broke loose.

The tables began tap dancing back and forth, making it impossible for anyone to eat. The chairs began to run, zigzagging wildly around the hall. The food began to fly around, hitting everyone, teacher, ghost or student. The hair colour change potions, we spiked the drinks with, took effect. Fred's hair turned a violent purple, George's turned bright pink and mine fluoro green. We stood there, revelling in the mayhem we had caused, until we noticed Professors Snape and McGonagall storming towards us. We looked at each other and grinned in anticipation. We waved our wands in synchronisation, and everything except for the students and teachers froze. The professors marched towards us with anger. Dumbledore cast a cleaning spell, causing everything to return to normal, except people's hair – Which can't be reversed; it only fades after 48 hours. I looked at Snape's bubble gum pink hair, and burst out laughing. I then glanced at McGonagall's bright orange hair, which made me double up in giggles, leaving the twins to complete the show.

They set off the charmed fireworks. The fireworks flew up to the ceiling and exploded, spelling, 'Tonight's entertainment is accredited to the Weasley twins and the gorgeous Ebony Black'. The fireworks changed to form a 3D image of a two red foxes chasing after a gold kookaburra. The kookaburra was laughing and flying, swooping on top of random people's heads. The foxes ran, using people's heads as stepping stones.

The students and staff stood in their place, mesmerised by the sight of the three beautiful animals. They moved towards us and stopped; the kookaburra in front of me, one fox in front of each twin. The firework animals bowed down in front of us, and then exploded into a stunning shower of red and gold sparks. Everyone, except the worst Slytherins – Snape included - clapped appreciatively. The three of us bowed, and then turned to face Snape and McGonagall.

McGonagall stared at us speechless. She turned to Snape, "let me deal with these three." Snape turned and skulked away. "Come with me, Mr Weasley, Mr Weasley and Miss Black." She motioned for us to follow her and led us out of the hall. We followed her through the corridors to her office. We entered behind her, and she closed the door behind us. She walked to her chair, carefully averting her face as to not give us an opportunity to gauge her mood.

"Take a seat, please." Fred pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit down. He sat down in the chair closest to me, grabbing my hand as he did so. She sat down behind her desk and turned to finally face us. "What are you three planning to do after you finish your schooling?"

"Fred and I are planning to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley." George replied. McGonagall turned to me.

"I would like to join the ministry. Either become an auror," I said, "or work for the department of mysteries." McGonagall's eyes widened.

"The Department of Mysteries!" She cried, shocked. "Well I definitely expect you can do it. But they only take the best of the best. The last person they accepted was Sturgis Podmore, and that was almost ten years ago. He got all O's for his NEWT's. Something you are quite capable of doing. I am especially convinced after the show you three have just put on."

"So you liked it?" Fred asked.

"I don't approve of your methods, but I cannot deny, that was brilliant magic. Especially the firework display." She leant forward to put her chin in her hands. "How did you do it?"

Fred and George leaned forward eagerly to explain, but I spoke first, "No Professor, please allow us to keep our methods a secret."

"Why the secrecy, Miss Black?"

"Well, the schools enjoyment of our pranks is half shock and half amusement." I replied. "Plus you cannot deny that you enjoy the surprise too"

"Fine then, Miss Black. I will allow you to keep your 'so called secrets'. I will allow you to continue your pranking," the twins and I stared at her in complete shock. "Yes, Miss Black, Mr Weasley and Mr Weasley, you can continue your pranks, as long – oh, shut your mouths, will you – as long as no student, teacher or ghost is harmed in the making or during the showing of it."

"You're joking!" the twins cried, amazed.

"Who are you, and what have you done with our head of house?" I asked astounded.

"So you don't want this privilege?" she asked, slyly. "I could always take it-"

"No, no, it's cool!" I begged, "We'll keep it! Thank you, Professor."

"Well then. I shall let you go to your common room unpunished, for who could punish those who have done amazing things with magic tonight." She stood up and walked to the door to open it. "Do not make me regret this decision." She motioned us out. "Go straight to your common room. Absolutely no detours. Goodnight."

"Night professor," we replied. We left her office and walked to the common room, all eager to get to bed. I smiled, happily as I looked around at all the familiar corridors and the portraits, glad to be back home again. Fred grabbed my hand and held it as we approached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She looked up and smiled.

I looked up at the Fat Lady. "Fortuna Major"

"How are you three?" The Fat Lady asked.

"All good, especially since Fred and Eb got together." George smirked at us. "How about you?"

"Very good." She replied. "I must say, it's about time you two got together. Anyway, you three look quite exhausted. I've heard a lot about the amazing prank you pulled tonight. Wait until you see inside." My stomach churned. She swung on her hinges to let us in. "In you go. Goodnight."

We entered to great applause. "How'd you do that?" Ron shouted, proudly.

"With talent," I began smirking.

"Which we three have in abundance," the twins finished.

"Where did you get those fireworks?" Oliver Wood cried.

"Trade secret," I replied, grinning at the twins. Fred squeezed my hand, knowing that I wasn't fond of talking to a large group of people. Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet squealed when they saw that Fred and I were holding hands.

"Oh my god!" Katie screamed. "You two are dating!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Time for bed everyone." Percy strutted into the room, his chest thrust out so none could miss the Head boy badge on his chest. Everybody ignored him, too busy staring at Fred and me to care what Percy had to say. "Come on now! I'm head boy!"

I headed towards the stairs pretending to forget about Fred. He huffed then walked towards me and grabbed me around the waist to turn me to face him. "Are you forgetting something?" he whispered huskily into my ear.

"Not that I'm aware of." I replied, faking confusion. He growled. I laughed and kissed him on the lips. He kissed me back, making me forget everything around me, except him. Someone began to wolf-whistle, and we jumped apart, my face turning red.

"Get a room, will you!" Lee yelled. I smiled, pecked Fred on the lips and ran up the staircase, Angelina following close behind me.

We entered the room and walked over to our beds near the window, overlooking the quiet grounds. Angelina was looking at me expectantly. I stared at her confused until I remembered what I had to do.

"Wait until everyone is asleep." My stomach filled with dread, as I contemplated what I had promised to tell her. "I promise I'll tell you then."

"Ok," she replied. "But I'll be holding you to that promise." I nodded and climbed eagerly into my soft, warm bed.

An hour later, everyone but Angelina and I were asleep. She sat up in her bed and looked at me. "Are you ready to tell me?"

"No, but come over and I'll tell you anyway." She rolled, clumsily out of her bed, yawning, and then tip toed over to me and climbed slowly onto my bed to sit in front of me. She seized my hand and held it gently. "Muffilato," I whispered, casting the silencing charm. "What do you want to know?"

"What did you see that upset you when the dementor's came into the carriage?"

"You know how I lived in Australia with my aunt and cousin until I was eight?" she nodded, cautiously. "I was remembering the day my aunt and cousin died."

"Did you see it happen?" she asked gently.

"Yes." I broke down in tears for the second time today. She wrapped her arms around me trying to comfort me.

"I'm sorry, Eb. You shouldn't have seen that," she whispered into my ear. "Hell, you shouldn't have had to deal with the loss." We sat there in companionable silence for a while, during which time I eventually quieted down. I pulled away from Angelina, and moved to get back under my covers. Angelina got off my bed and walked, yawning back to her bed. "Night Eb. I'm sorry that I brought that topic up."

"It's not your fault. I should have told you ages ago. Night Ange." She fell into bed and fell asleep almost immediately. I envied her ease of falling asleep. I lay there thinking about everything – Fred, my father, Remus and my Aunt Rose. I was awake there for hours.

**A/N**

**This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.**

**Please Read and Review**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – The Not-So-Brilliant-Lesson **

**I sadly don't own the rights to Kelly Clarkson's song 'Breakaway'. Or while I'm going, Harry Potter ;(.**

I woke up at six o'clock in the morning, after two nightmare filled hours of sleep. I reluctantly got up out of my warm bed, pulled on my dark red dressing robe. I packed my schoolbag and roughly shoved my school uniform into it. I scribbled down a short note to Angelina, telling that I had gone to see Remus.

I slipped out of the room, quietly as to not to wake the girls. I ran down the stairs, through the common room and out the portrait hole. I raced down three corridors before slowing to a walk. As I strolled through the castle, the initial horror of my nightmare slowly wore off.

_**NIGHTMARE**_

_I walked through the forbidden forest alone on a dark night. I could hear the thuds of large animals moving around me. The loud calls of the centaurs as they hunted echoed through the dark woods, scaring the birds from their nests high up in the trees. A lone wolf howled nearby. I shuddered, immediately looking towards the moon. It was full._

_An almost invisible dog barked and flew out of the foliage directly at me. I screamed, terrified. It stood still and silently in front of me, its grey eyes familiar. As I wondered where I had seen them before, it growled at me. It stalked towards me and barked in my father's voice, "Miss me?" I screamed._

_**END OF NIGHTMARE**_

As I walked down the candle-lit corridors, I was overcome by a rare need to sing. I began to sing softly.

_"I will not make_

_The same mistakes that you did_

_I will not let myself_

_'Cause my heart so much misery_

_I will not break_

_The way you did, you fell so hard_

_I've learned the hard way_

_To never let it get that far"_

Tears came into my eyes. This song signified all the emotions I have attempted to hide for the last week, ever since I found out about Sirius's escape. I sung a little louder.

_"Because of you_

_I never strayed too far from the sidewalk_

_Because of you_

_I learned to play on the safe side_

_So I don't get hurt_

_Because of you_

_I find it hard to trust_

_Not only me, but everyone around me_

_Because of you, I am afraid"_

Tears were streaming down my face. Memories flashed before my eyes. What Remus's face looked like when I walked in on him crying at Halloween two years ago. My father's terrifying mug shot in the Daily Prophet.

_"I lose my way_

_And it's not too long before you point it out_

_I cannot cry_

_Because I know that's weakness in your eyes_

_I'm forced to fake_

_A smile, a laugh, every day of my life_

_My heart can't possibly break_

_When it wasn't even whole to start with"_

The way everyone stared distrustfully at me for my whole first year. How all of the other students were judging me for my father's actions.

_"Because of you_

_"I never strayed too far from the sidewalk_

_Because of you_

_I learned to play on the safe side_

_So I don't get hurt_

_Because of you_

_I find it hard to trust_

_Not only me, but everyone around me_

_Because of you, I am afraid"_

How it took weeks to make friends with Fred and George. It took months for me to trust them. They were the only one who gave me a chance. I sung a bit louder, slowly progressing to my full volume. I was pouring out my raw emotions with every single word that I sung. It was a great relief.

_"I watched you die, I heard you cry_

_Every night in your sleep_

_I was so young, you should have known_

_Better than to lean on me_

_You never thought of anyone else_

_You just saw your pain_

_And now I cry, in the middle of the night_

_For the same damn thing"_

I was approaching the end of my song; my heart was pounding in time with my voice. I was almost at Remus's quarters. I remembered my first ever detention with the Weasley twins.

_"Because of you_

_I never strayed too far from the sidewalk_

_Because of you_

_I learned to play on the safe side_

_So I don't get hurt_

_Because of you_

_I find it hard to trust_

_Not only me, but everyone around me_

_Because of you, I am afraid_

_Because of you_

_I tried my hardest just to forget everything_

_Because of you_

_I don't know how to let anyone else in_

_Because of you_

_I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty_

_Because of you, I am afraid_

_Because of you_

_oh oh oh_

_Because of you_

_oh oh oh."_

"Ebony?" Remus called, as he approached me from behind. "What's the matter, beautiful?"

"I couldn't sleep." I replied, yawning. "When I did eventually manage, I had a nightmare." He walked up to me and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me on the forehead.

"What was it about?"

"It was about a black dog that tried to attack me. It spoke to me with my father's voice." He glanced at me shocked.

"What did it look like?"

"All I could see was its grey eyes." He gaped at me. "It was strange. I could swear I've seen those eyes before." Remus attempted to hide his shock. "what's wrong, Rem?"

"You should have come to me earlier. I would have gotten Madam Pomfrey to give you a dreamless sleep potion." He pulled me towards his rooms. "Come on. You can have a quick sleep in my room. Ill wake you up at quarter past eight with some breakfast." He opened the door and firmly pushed me in, quietly closing the door behind me. I walked over to his bed, pulled back the covers and got in. I fell asleep immediately.

All too soon, Remus was shaking me awake. "Wake up, Eb! Its twenty past eight." I sat up, looking around wildly at my unfamiliar surroundings. "Here is your breakfast. Eat up." He passed me a tray full of food and left the room. I shovelled the food down. Once finished I dropped the fork onto my empty tray and slipped out of the bed feeling quite refreshed. I quickly changed into my uniform and cast a spell that brushed my hair. I ran out the door, slamming head first into Remus.

He looked me up and down, and then passed me my schoolbag. "Fred and George are waiting for you outside with your timetable." I reached up to hug him.

"Good luck for your first day working, Rem." I smiled up at him. "Not that you will need it."

"Thanks Eb, but you need to go otherwise you'll be late. Have fun" I ran out the door, and immediately found the twins. They were leaning against the wall, smirking at me. Fred pulled my face up to his and kissed me gently on the lips.

George groaned, "Merlin, preserve my eyes"

"You certainly don't need to watch, Gred." He began to kiss me again. "Good morning, Beautiful."

"We need to get to class." I gave him one last kiss, and then reluctantly pulled away. I grinned at the sight of Georges, averted face. "It's safe to look now you prat. Anyway, can I have my timetable, please?" Fred pulled the piece of paper out of his back pocket and passed it to me. I checked it. I had Defence against Dark Arts First. Yes! I looked again. Damn, with the Slytherins? "Do you guys have the same classes as me?"

"Yep, we do. DADA with the Slytherins first." Fred replied, whilst George just nodded. We began to walk to the DADA classroom. "I can't wait to see how good a teacher Remus is."

"I know right. Neither can I." we arrived at the classroom just as our class was entering. We joined the end of the line and entered. I looked at Remus and smiled, encouragingly at him. 'Good luck' I mouthed in his direction before we headed to our usual seats.

Once everyone in the class was seated, Remus walked to the front of the classroom. The class stopped talking, unsure of how strict this new teacher was. Remus smiled at all of us.

"Good morning class. My name is Professor Remus Lupin, and I will be teaching you for the duration of the year." The class looked at me, aware that this was my foster father. Montague put his hand up. Remus checked the roll. "Mr Montague?"

"You're Blacks uncle. You'll show her fave-"

"No!" Remus growled. "I may have adopted her as a daughter, but in this classroom she will be treated the same as the rest of you." I pouted at him. "Yes, Miss Black, you will be treated the same as every other student." I poked my tongue out at him, pretending that I hadn't already anticipated this.

He walked to the board and began to lecture us on the importance of OWL's. Halfway through the lesson he finished the lecture. "Ok, now to the fun part of the lesson." He pulled a large suitcase out from under his desk. He placed it onto the floor in front of him. It shook violently. "Who can tell me what is in his case?" I put my hand up. "Miss Black?"

"It's Ebony – You know that," I replied irritated. "There is a Boggart in the suitcase."

"Very good, Ebony." He praised. "Anyone know what they do?"

Angelina raised her hand, "they take the form that will scare the victim the most. Only one spell can defeat them."

"What spell is this and what does it do?"

"Riddikulus, it forces the Boggart into an amusing form according to what the caster is picturing."

"Thank you, Miss Johnson," he said. "Now everyone get out your wands and stand on that side of the classroom." He pointed out where he wanted us to stand. Everyone moved o hat side of the classroom – Naturally, the Slytherins with a lot of grumbling.

Remus vanished he tables and chairs to make room. He levitated the case into the middle of the room. "Mr Jordan, come up you can demonstrate." Lee turned to grin at me and the twins. He strutted up to the suitcase. "Remember, Mr Jordan, the spell is Riddikulus." Lee nodded as he gripped his wand tighter. He stood in front of the case ready. Remus waved his wand and the case burst open.

Lee flinched away from the hag that slowly eased herself out of the case. She stalked towards him with a terrifying sneer on her face. He pointed his wand at her and croaked "Riddikulus". The hag turned into a fluoro green kewpie doll. The class laughed. The entire class ran towards the boggart all wanting to have a turn.

"Everyone, get in a line please!" Remus called. We did so. Fred, George and I pushed into the front of the line the twins in front of me. Fred approached the boggart. The boggart turned into me saying that I was pretending to care for him. I gasped in shock as I looked at the horror that was clear on Fred's face.

He cried, "Riddikulus!" The boggart turned into me throwing water balloons at the Slytherins. I started laughing.

George stepped up to have his turn. The boggart changed into mine and Fred's dead bodies. He stood there for a second staring at the bodies with a pain filled look on his face. "It's okay George, it's not us!" I called out to him.

He stood up a little straighter and pointed his wand at the bodies calling out "Riddikulus!" The bodies transformed into me and Fred wearing fairy costumes, mine green whilst Fred's was bright pink. The whole class, including Remus laughed. I stepped up to meet the boggart.

It transformed into a black dog. It stalked towards me growling. I flinched away from it, remembering that this is what kept me awake last night. I glanced at Remus, only to see him staring at the dog in shock and horror. I backed away from the dog.

It looked at me, "Miss me?" it whispered. It continued to stalk towards me.

I waved my wand at the dog. "Riddikulus!" I screamed. He changed into a werewolf. I repeated the spell. It changed into my father. I waved my wand at it, feelingmy resolve falter. It turned into my father dressed in a banana costume. I couldn't bring myself to laugh, much less smile. I ran desperately out of the classroom, needing to be alone.

I ran upstairs to the seventh floor and stopped next to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. A door appeared on the opposite side of the corridor. I entered and found a small room with a lounge and a shelf full of books. I sat down and fell asleep.

_***NIGHTMARE***_

_I was lying in the meadow listening to the gentle bubbling of the nearby stream. The leaves in the trees were waving slowly in time with the slight breeze. The strong scent of wildflowers filled my nose, making me feel a refreshing calm._

_ A large black dog burst out of the trees and ran straight at me._ _I screamed and it lunged at me. I ran away as fast as I could. It barked at me._

_"What's wrong Ebony?" the monster growled. "Don't you miss me?"_

_***END OF NIGHTMARE***_

**_R & R please_**


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